Four years ago today: “A temporary White House staffer, Carlton Philadelphia, brought his family to the Oval Office for a farewell photo with President Obama. Carlton’s son softly told the President he had just gotten a haircut like President Obama, and asked if he could feel the President’s head to see if it felt the same as his.” May 8, 2009. (Photo by Pete Souza)

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Today:

10:15: VP Biden attends President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea’s address to a Joint Session of Congress

12:0: VP Biden delivers remarks at the 43rd Annual Washington Conference on the Americas at the Department of State

12:30: Jay Carney briefs the press

2:25: President Obama meets with electric utility CEOs and their trade associations

5:30: Meets with a group of Asian American and Pacific Islanders national leaders

6:30: Has dinner with members of the House Democratic Leadership at the Jefferson Hotel

President Barack Obama and President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea, May 7. Photo: Pete Souza

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USA Today: …. The president starts this afternoon at the Energy Department, where he meets with electric utility CEOs and trade associations to talk about preparations for the upcoming hurricane season….

Then comes a presidential meeting with a group of Asian American and Pacific Islanders national leaders. The agenda includes Obama’s efforts to win a major immigration bill and the ongoing implementation of the health care bill.

Obama caps his day with another congressional dinner, this one with House Democratic leaders. The dinner at a hotel in downtown Washington features House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Cal., and some of her colleagues: Steny Hoyer, James Clyburn, Xavier Becerra, Joe Crowley, Chris Van Hollen, Rosa DeLauro, Rob Andrew, Steve Israel, and Mike Thompson.

…. I sure don’t see any possible response to the Republican attacks except for Democrats to get out of their crouch and start selling Obamacare like their lives depend on it. Which they do. A moderate response just won’t do any good here. Dems need to be promoting Obamacare with the same fervor Republicans bring to the attack, pointing out its benefits and upsides at every opportunity. So far I haven’t seen this – or even anything even close to this – and I suppose that might only be due to the fact that 2014 is still a ways off. But it better start happening soon.

Jonathan Cohn: Democrats are worried about the implementation of Obamacare … “There’s clearly some concern that their constituents don’t yet have all facts on how it will work, and that Republicans are filling that vacuum with partisan talking points,” Representative Steve Israel of New York told the Times. “And the administration must use every tool they have to get around the obstructions and make it work.”

…. In conversations over the last two weeks, about this very question, I’ve been struck by how little even some of the administration’s allies know about what the White House has in mind.

That appears to be changing now ….. the administration just brought on Tara McGuinness, who used to work at the Center for American Progress, to lead a communications team on health care reform. The president himself will start talking more about the law: On Friday, for example, he’ll be giving a speech about the benefits it will bring to women. And much more is in store for the summer, when the administration will inform people about the law’s benefits and encourage people who need insurance to sign up…..

Business Insider: Stirred by the U.S. Senate’s failure to pass an expansion on background checks last month, a group of three web designers with the Brooklyn firm Guts & Glory expressed their frustration by creating a website that has turned into a viral campaign over the past two weeks.

The website, TheyDontWorkForYou.org, pairs all 46 senators who voted against the amendment with victims of gun violence. It encourages readers to call the senators, tweet at them, or post messages on their Facebook pages.

After launching on April 22, the campaign has spread through different advocacy organizations, such as Moms Demand Action. It has also earned the firm congratulations from organizations like the Michael Bloomberg-backed Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

I got it Chips. Thanks sooooo much. I can relate to what FLOTUS said about gardens and migrating to Chicago. I lived there for a few years and worked in the Woodlawn area at a branch of The Chicago Public Library.

Is anyone else afraid that the republicans only have one shot at not implementing the ACA and that going over the debt limit?
Hannity calls for doing just that and interviews T Baggers with those pointed questions all the time.
I just think when it comes to messaging, they got the Beltway right where they want them.
Also, last week a poll was out saying 40% of the people don’t even know obsma are is still the law of the land.
Just to many distractions…
IDK!

House Republicans are locked in a debate over what they should demand from President Obama for hiking the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling.
The GOP conference will meet May 15 to discuss the idea of linking tax reform to the debt limit, but early indications suggest that would be a tough sell with many in the party’s rank and file.

Some Republicans say that framework is insufficient and that they’ll need spending cuts as well as tax reform to raise the debt ceiling. Others in the conference say that only the full enactment of tax reform will be enough to raise the nation’s borrowing limit and that incremental progress toward completing tax reform is not enough.
Conservatives in the GOP conference say they are evaluating debt-ceiling proposals against a deal they struck with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his lieutenants during the annual retreat in January. That deal says increases in the debt ceiling will only come about once debt-reducing laws are enacted, they said.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) has discussed developing a plan that would fast-track a rewrite of the tax code and tie it to raising the debt ceiling over multiple stages.

Jovie, I don’t think PBO spoke idly when he said he would not negotiate on the debt ceiling. He was strong in saying he was not going to leave that kind of legacy to the succeeding president. So, we’ll have to prepare for a government shutdown with all the attendant SS check delays and other horrors. It will be our job to make sure that everyone knows that the Republicans are responsible.

GOP’s difficult position in debt limit fight: Republicans are set to offer a bill that would authorize Treasury to only raise the debt ceiling to pay bondholders, as a way to avoid default while also allowing Republicans to demand something in return for not raising the debt limit. But as Jennifer Bendery points out, in defending the bill, the House Speaker didn’t disagree with the Dem argument that this would amount to paying China before paying our troops.

The rub here is that by revealing they won’t allow default — which we’ve already seen from the GOP debt limit cave earlier this year – this bill would seem to cast doubt on the GOP’s ability to use the debt ceiling as leverage.

* GOP grapples with debt limit demands: Nevertheless, the Hill reports that House Republicans are locked in an internal debate over what, specifically, they should demand in exchange for the debt limit hike. Should they ask for tax reform, or tax reform and spending cuts? Remember, Republicans had previously seemed close to deciding they were not going to demand the entitlement cuts they themselves had wanted, because they suddenly deemed them too politically risky. But now conservatives will apparently insist on cuts.
But, again, if Republicans are not willing to allow default, it still remains unclear where the leverage for demanding spending cuts and tax reform will come from.

Even though ECB didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning in SC, she made the same mistake dems made in 2010. She should never have distanced herself from POTUS, and she shouldn’t have been spouting off RW talking points. It seems the dems have learned nothing from PBO’s 2 campaigns. He never tried to change the minds of republicans, he brought new voters into the party. I hope her campaign isn’t a preview of what dems will do in 2014. If you want a chance to win, you need to appeal to the Obama voters, badmouthing PBO, running away from him or using RW language will never get the Obama voters out to vote for you.

Not sure that would have worked in that very red district (It voted overwhelmingly for Romney in 2012 and PBO was clearly not running from himself or his record during the election). I find it curious how little media attention Sanford’s win is generating. Since the GOP distanced itself from Sanford during the election since his conduct has been embarrassing, the MSM is once again carrying water for the GOP. MSM is the communications arm of the GOP.

Turned on the TV this morning which was on MSNBC from last night and who was on Morning Joe — Lindsey Graham. Benghazi is al about keeping Hillary Clinton from running for President. Sick of all of these scumbags.

Very true hopefruit. GWB won reelection after the 3,000 killed on 9/11. Also Benghazi did not stop PBO from winning reelection. This GOP facination with Benghazi just shows how weak they are when it comes to foreign policy. PBO did what many thought no Democratic President could do: totally eradicate the GOP’s generations long stranglehold on foreign policy. The GOP is grasping at straws and using the stale Rovian tactic of attacking an opponent’s strength to hide the GOP’s weakness.

This is a sad and very unfortunate event and I feel bad for the reporter who had to suffer this indignity. However, the burden should not be placed on the President to refuse to go this event. After all, pretty much EVERY event he has participated in as President (including press conferences, SOTU address, Golf games, Easter Egg Roll) is a “white establishment” event, and he has been on the receiving end of similar or worse kinds of racism since he took office.

I’m glad the reporter is speaking out, but she (and others) should place the focus fairly and squarely where it belongs – on those who are committing the offense, not on the President.

I place no burdens on the President (burden was your word, not mine) – he has more than enough in the job – but I think the event is so far past its use by date it needs to stop. The WHPC itself should be disbanded – serves no useful purpose whatsoever. I can’t think of another country in the world where the political leader – be it President, Prime Minister or whatever has to provide access to the press every breathing moment.

The only way the racism will ever stop is when people are called out for their behavior ALL the time – not when it happens accidentally during the rescue of three young women.

Any time you use the would “should” in conjunction with “The President” as in something the President ought to do – you are placing a burden on him, whether you are aware of it or not. “Should” was your word, not mine. And you used it before I responded with the word “burden.”

Aside from that I fully agree with you that people should be called out for their racist behavior at ALL times.

This is a community where people share their opinions. If you don’t want people responding to your posts here, don’t post them in the first place.

You wrote that the President should refuse to attend this event, and when I bring it up in a response, you first deny that you said it, and now you are trying to evade the question by demanding that I not answer your posts.

The author did not even mention PBO’s name – she was simply relating her unfortunate experience with racism. Yet you rushed in and started making it about him and what he should or shouldn’t do. I called out the knee jerk reflex of placing the burden on PBO to solve all problems/ills of society, and you’re annoyed that I did that.

That is all! By the way, I am not experiencing any “grief” over this. Are you?

This story had me seething with rage. I’m glad the woman wrote her story, but I would go further, consult a civil rights lawyer and bring action against the guards. This was a time when she should have been taking names and reporting them far up the chain. If she had a camera with her, take photos. This kind of open, rancid racism should not be tolerated from ANY source. I have a Latino friend who has a good job who when entering an upscale department store was told by a clerk that she could probably not afford anything in the store. They made the presumption that because she was a person of color, she was poor. She complained up the line to the store management and set that clerk straight.

This story angered me as well, mainly because the security felt so comfortable in openly flaunting their racism. It’s obvious that these guards felt that the physician was someone of no significance and therefore, their actions would have no consequence.

Now that the story is out, hopefully, there will be consequences, not just for the guards, but for the agency for which they worked.

GM all in the wonderful city, state, country, world of TOD. SSSC is obviously trying to push back on all the attention its sister state to the north has been getting by doing something even more stupid than what NC has done recently. Oh well, life goes on.

And I have one response to Representative Israel. It is not just the administration’s responsibility to sell Obamacare, it is yours and every other Dem’s responsibility as well. Get the facts on what Obamacare has done and will do for your district and get out there and shout it from the rooftops.

One would think Dems hadn’t been trying to pass health care reform for 100 years. They act like the President woke up and decided he just wanted to add to his legacy, and that the country didn’t actually need health care reform. It’s really disappointing.

I 100 percent agree with you on that, Japa. The president alone can’t do this. He has to have the full-throated support of every member of Congress. As Gov. Patrick said at the 2012 convention, Dems get a spine.

The Democrats showed their spinelessness throughout the President’s first term. That is why you find so many people who are unaware of the accomplishments of this administration.

We talk about how much better off this country would be if it were not for the obstruction of the GOP. But the Democrats — especially its “leadership” — are guilty of obstruction through their silence and passivity. How much better off would the country be if the Democrats would “get a spine” and be more vocal in their support and bring more attention to what has been accomplished? Why don’t we see more Democratic “leadership” denounce the untruths that the GOP and their supporters are able to spout? How many more Republicans could be persuaded to vote for some of the bills proposed or backed by this administration if the Democrats were not so lukewarm in their support and so passive in trying to convince their Republican comrades to break rank?

I always smile at the picture of the little boy touching the President’s head. Children are often good judges of character and can see beyond phoniness and unscrupulousness. The President’s appeal to children says a lot about the goodness and genuineness of his character.

Alex Ferguson is retiring? YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! Oh happy day. Mourinho had better not go over to the dark side or I will kick his ass.

So glad the administration is rolling out an ObamaCare communications blitz. I hope they also communicate with spineless Democrats not to screw things over like they did in 2010. Democrats should be proud of ObamaCare and sell it with every last breath. Heck, ObamaCare was on the ballot in 2012 and Pres. Obama didn’t run away from it. ObamaCare is here to stay. The SCOTUS and more importantly, voters have reinforced that.

Now They Want to Take Away the 8-Hour Day and 40-Hour Week
Tuesday, 07 May 2013 15:13 By Dave Johnson, Truthout | News Analysis

Republicans are trying to pass an “alternative” to overtime pay. This is really about taking away the eight-hour workday and 40-hour workweek. Will weekends be next? What about an “alternative” to paying workers at all?

House Republicans are pushing a bill that takes away extra pay for overtime, substituting “comp” time instead. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 is the law that brought us the eight-hour workday and the 40-hour workweek. This law does not prohibit employers from requiring workers to work over 40 hours. Instead, it gives employers an incentive to instead pay extra or hire more people, and gives employees a premium if they do have to work longer. (Note that this is also the law that brought us a minimum wage and outlawed child labor.)

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It is important to note that the Republican Proposed law does not guarantee workers the right to actually use the comp time they get instead of extra pay. Employers can put it off forever. You can’t use this time when you want to, only when the employer decides it is okay.

Employers have been finding “creative” ways to cut their operating costs and increase their bottom line so that highly paid upper management would continue to get hefty bonuses. In many cases, hourly work staff is reduced and remaining workers are expected to take up the slack in the guise of working more efficiently.

So now, conservatives want to help their corporate buddies by providing more legal options to help them add to their bottom line so that their privileged lifestyle can be maintained.

Are we so far removed from our history that there is little or no care for working citizens?

(Reuters) – U.S. Senator Rand Paul introduced a bill late on Tuesday that would repeal parts of a 2010 law designed to fight offshore tax evasion by Americans with assets hidden in foreign banks.

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is being implemented worldwide through a series of agreements between the U.S. government and other governments and foreign banks.

Paul, a Kentucky Republican with libertarian views, has been a critic of FATCA, saying it invades individuals’ privacy. His bill has little chance of winning approval in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

But Ensign NV, Craig Wide-stand MPLS/ST.Paul guy from ID, Vitter the DC LA prostitute seeking guy, Dr. Scott DesJalais TN, whatever and anything go guy and Mark Sanford are celebrated as Come-back? Hmm, next Scarborough would be anointed to who knows what. Once again, the media helping the TBGOPers to Moralize, define, re-define and using the medium to once again moving the Goal-Post for their political games and advantage.

No Politician has ever done what Rep DesJalais from TN has done…..yet the media ignores that today and Not one TBGOPer apparatus is asked of this and they are allowed once again…….to soil, decimate and re-write our political Norm once again?

What worries me is that after President Obama finishes out his term, we lose a lot of energy. I can only speak for myself, but I never paid much attention before PBO ran, and I know now how important my role as a citizen is. I will continue to work for labor and against plutocracy, but I fear that many others will drop out again. I can’t really blame folks for getting burned out, but the repugs are counting on it.

Fox, CNN and Mourning Joke all are have Benghazi Orgasm………whatever the repubs say negatively, they quickly regurgitate immediately. Notice how those who are not repeating the already programmed meme are never invited to these shows.

Sen Bob Corker…..the Weasel from TN so far is Not Lindsey Graham on this issue so hi Invites to the Cablers on their Benghazi Fest………very limited.

There was a survey from 21stdems.org in my mailbox. They asked, among other things, if I want to support Democrats to get a majority or if I support only “progressive Democrats” even if they are long shots. This is my reply:

Your survey asks about support for Democrats vs. progressive Democrats. I wish we could get away from meaningless labels. I am right now supporting Congressman Ed Markey for U.S. Senate. I will support any Democrat who is ready to support President Obama. By that I don’t mean they have to agree with everything the President proposes. But I do expect candidates to “grow a spine” as our wonderful Governor, Deval Patrick, famously said at the Mass. Democratic convention. That will be my litmus test. And I think I speak for quite a few others who feel the same way.

Meanwhile, the sequester is still is in effect, people are starving, losing access to cancer treatments, and millions are still unemployed. But hey, we get a new baseball coin. Gotta have our priorities, right? Family values, freedom and all.

WASHINGTON — A House panel has approved legislation that would greatly curtail when veterans deemed mentally incompetent are reported to the FBI’s background check system.

The move to winnow what records get placed into the database comes even as both sides of the gun-control debate have called for strengthening the background-check system.

Currently, the Department of Veterans Affairs automatically submits the names of those veterans who are deemed unable to handle their own financial affairs and have a fiduciary appointed to administer their benefits.

But the House Committee on Veterans Affairs approved legislation requiring a judge’s order before a veteran’s name is submitted to the database. Lawmakers said veterans who are not a threat to harm themselves or others should not be denied a constitutional right to buy and possess guns.

Just read Ms. Jilani’s first hand report of the racism she was subjected to.

All I can think of is the new mom and daughter who come to my story time. I tweeted about them yesterday. They’re Muslim, and the mom wears the hijab. All I can think of is what crap they must go through every day, having their very existence questioned, always having to justify themselves. Never mind that the daughter is probably the biggest burst of energy I’ve ever had at my story time; they’re “Other”, so they always have to tread carefully.

(now seeing tweets that the Internet access is fully restored and 1 of Assad’s stooges claims a ‘cable’ was damaged & that was the reason – btw, that’s bs, since they have redundant access to the Internet via several independent cable connections.

The media – wherever they came from – at the site of Amanda Berry’s sister’s home in Cleveland, showed a total lack of respect and compassion to a woman who has been traumatized by a madman psycho for 10 years, so much so that she could not make a statement. The kidnap victims have apparently said they “have not seen an adult,” other than their captor(s), in all that time. Yet, they were greeted by a feeding frenzy of “adults” on the street. (Not well handled by the police, either.) Amanda’s sister came out for her, but no one could hear her because of the loser media. The whole thing’s appalling, and the police need to move the media back, about a mile. Hopefully, the entire block will be cordoned off, with a police presence. Unreal.

God forbid the ambulance-chaser media shouldn’t get all the awful details, before the arraignments and hearings and trials. Too bad the victims can’t start a quiet, joyful, healing process, with their families at their sides. Hopefully, the families are receiving counseling and protection, because they will be exploited. God bless these young women, and Amanda’s daughter, whom I’m sure she protected as well as she could.

Hmmm, let’s see how can I make this relevant to the President:
1) He’s a proud Trekkie!!
2) I’m 100% sure there’ll be a screening of Star Trek: Into Darkness at the White House (if it hasn’t already happened, I’ve been away for a bit)
3) It’s about cars. Okay, so they’re German cars, but they’re sold here so it’s about American jobs too! WINNING!!
4) Who cares, dammit? It’s Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto! I’m tingling all over!! :-D:-D:-D

I love what the President says about the most famous photo, but that photo has resonance on many levels, not the least of which is that “the President’s hair is a black man’s hair, like mine.” It’s powerful. We’re so used to our President being black now that I think sometimes we forget the significance of it on a global scale and on a national scale. And for children who are growing up….all children…growing up for what will become 8 years of an African American President, the impact is immeasurable and profound.